Golf is a popular sports enjoyed by many around the world. A typical golfer is armed with a collection of golf clubs for striking golf balls. It is common for a golfer to carry three to five woods, and nine or more irons in a golf bag. On common problem for golfers is that after removal of one or more clubs from the golf bag to hit the golf ball, the golfer forgets to place the clubs back into the bag. For example, when the golfer is close to the green, he may remove the pitching wedge and the putter from the golf bag to strike the ball. After delivering the ball onto the green with the pitching wedge, the golfer would lay the pitching wedge on the ground and putt the ball into the hole. However, out of excitement of completing the shot the golfer may forget to retrieve his pitching wedge. Thus, a golf club holding apparatus that can indicate to the golfer that a golf club is absent form the golf bag is desirable.
Another common problem commonly experienced by most golfers is that the heads for the golf clubs tent to strike against each other when the golf bag carrying the clubs is moved. This problem is particular prominent when the bag is carried by the golfer as he walks. The bouncing motion in the gates of the golfer may lead to repeated contact between the heads of the golf clubs. It is desirable to have an apparatus for holding and/or protecting the heads of the golf clubs. An apparatus for holding the heads of the golf clubs or securing the position of the clubs relative to the golf bag may be particularly useful.
Yet another common problem in golfing is that sometimes it is difficult to identify the desired clubs within the group of 13 or more clubs. Since all the irons have similar shape and color, it is hard to quickly locate the desired club. For most golfers, it is common to use clubs of certain sizes and configurations more regularly than others during a golf game. For example, a particular golfer might use the pitching wedge and the seven-iron on a regular basis during a golf game, and never touch the four-iron. In this situation, it may be desirably to raise the height of these two clubs within the golf bag so they can easily be identified. An apparatus that allows the golfer to raise the height of selective golf clubs in the bag and lower them at will, may provide significant convince to the golfers.
Various devices have been devised for holding, separating and/or protecting golf clubs. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,014 issued May 24, 1988 to Very; U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,884 issued Sep. 24, 1991 to Flory; U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,823 issued Sep. 14, 1999 to Flis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,692 issued Feb. 5, 2002 to Park; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2002/0108873 published Aug. 15, 2002 by St. Jeor; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2002/0132679 published Sep. 19, 2002 by Wilde et al.; Japan Pat. No. JP 09-302,577 issued May 25, 1999 to Nishimura et al.; each of which is incorporated here in by reference in its entirety.
An apparatus for storing individual golf clubs and capable of indicating the absence of the golf clubs is much desired. Preferably, the apparatus may have build-in mechanisms for securing the position of the golf club within the storage apparatus. The apparatus may also be capable of raising the position of the golf club to draw attention to the golf club. Furthermore, such apparatus may also include markers, coloring, numbers, or other indicia to indicate the absence of a particular golf club.